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City Council has final say

By Valerie Garman | The News Herald

Published: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 at 05:59 PM.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — City planning board officials have dismissed a request to turn a vacant Middle Beach Road shopping center into a multi-use entertainment venue, but the owner of “Meridian Live” said the project is not dead yet.

Owner Chris Pitts hopes to repurpose the 80,000-square-foot building into a “House of Blues-type” restaurant with a separate space to host concerts, conventions and other special events, but his presentation to the Panama City Beach Planning Board on Monday was met with concerns about traffic, parking, and nuisance and safety issues, specifically stemming from the concerts the venue would host, which could draw upward of 3,000 people.

Pitts, who worked at Club La Vela for 10 years, also answered other concerns about a potential Spring Break “pop-up club” or nightclub operation at the site.

Pitts said he went through a six-month vetting process with the property owner and suggested the lease agreement include a set of self-imposed restrictions on the property, which had included a Publix but has been vacant for about four years. The restrictions on the initial one-year lease would limit the number of concerts during the college Spring Break season in March to one per week and state that the building could not be used as a nightclub.

“We mean what we say,” Pitts said. “We’re going to do what we promised and play by the rules here.”

However, Panama City Beach Police Chief Drew Whitman said those are restrictions only the landlord can enforce. He said concerts at the venue, which currently has only 300 parking spaces, could create a “nightmare” for the department.

“If I didn’t come up here and express my concerns, I think I’d be neglecting my duties as the police,” Whitman said. “I’m concerned for the public’s well being that this could become a major problem. It’s the concerts that scare me and scares my police force.”

PANAMA CITY BEACH — City planning board officials have dismissed a request to turn a vacant Middle Beach Road shopping center into a multi-use entertainment venue, but the owner of “Meridian Live” said the project is not dead yet.

Owner Chris Pitts hopes to repurpose the 80,000-square-foot building into a “House of Blues-type” restaurant with a separate space to host concerts, conventions and other special events, but his presentation to the Panama City Beach Planning Board on Monday was met with concerns about traffic, parking, and nuisance and safety issues, specifically stemming from the concerts the venue would host, which could draw upward of 3,000 people.

Pitts, who worked at Club La Vela for 10 years, also answered other concerns about a potential Spring Break “pop-up club” or nightclub operation at the site.

Pitts said he went through a six-month vetting process with the property owner and suggested the lease agreement include a set of self-imposed restrictions on the property, which had included a Publix but has been vacant for about four years. The restrictions on the initial one-year lease would limit the number of concerts during the college Spring Break season in March to one per week and state that the building could not be used as a nightclub.

“We mean what we say,” Pitts said. “We’re going to do what we promised and play by the rules here.”

However, Panama City Beach Police Chief Drew Whitman said those are restrictions only the landlord can enforce. He said concerts at the venue, which currently has only 300 parking spaces, could create a “nightmare” for the department.

“If I didn’t come up here and express my concerns, I think I’d be neglecting my duties as the police,” Whitman said. “I’m concerned for the public’s well being that this could become a major problem. It’s the concerts that scare me and scares my police force.”

Several residents from surrounding neighborhoods like The Glades, Gulf Highlands and Palm Cove also spoke in opposition to the project.

The planning board denied the request unanimously, but Pitts, who has been working on the project for four years, said it wasn’t a make-or-break moment. Because the request is on a property larger than 3 acres, the planning board vote will move forward only as a recommendation to the City Council, which will make the final decision. Council members are scheduled to discuss the issue at their public meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Pitts said he hopes to continue working with city staff to come up with a compromise.

“We did leave La Vela to do this,” Pitts said. “This is not a nightclub; this is a year-round facility. I do not want to just open up for Spring Break.”

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